Amin Suliaman was a co-owner of the Nativ Hotel at 1612 Wazee St. in LoDo. (Lily O’Neill/BusinessDen)
A federal grand jury has indicted the former owner of LoDo’s Nativ Hotel on two counts of bank fraud for allegedly lying on loan paperwork and convincing Vectra Bank to send him nearly $300,000 in pandemic-era aid at a time when the hotel was closed.
Amin Suliaman, 48, was arrested last May and initially charged with four counts of wire fraud. He has pleaded not guilty. A one-week trial is scheduled to begin June 9 downtown.
Suliaman’s lawyer, Harvey Steinberg, did not answer a request for comment on the new charges but previously predicted that his client “will be completely vindicated.”
On March 26, grand jurors added the two bank fraud charges after determining that Suliaman’s alleged wrongdoing went farther than federal investigators initially believed.
Suliaman once operated several businesses in Colorado and co-owned the hotel at 1612 Wazee St. from 2018 until it closed in 2020. After a contentious foreclosure process, a bankruptcy and a failed auction, 1612 Wazee St. was sold for $6 million in 2022.
The allegations against Suliaman involve the time between Nativ’s closure and its sale. Prosecutors say that he applied for and received $450,000 in pandemic-era Economic Injury Disaster Loans for the hotel and other shuttered businesses that he owned, then spent the money on his nightclubs in Texas, along with rent, travel and retail purchases.
The new accusations of bank fraud stem from early 2021, when Suliaman allegedly submitted a Paycheck Protection Program application for the Nativ Hotel, which was not issuing paychecks. His application falsely stated the PPP money would be spent on Nativ, prosecutors say.
Suliaman then allegedly signed a credit agreement with Vectra, again falsely claiming he would use the PPP money on paychecks. Vectra is said to have put $291,912 in his account.
The next year, Suliaman asked Vectra to forgive the loan, claiming he had used the money to pay 25 hotel employees, when he actually used it for personal expenses, according to his indictment. Vectra denied the forgiveness application. (The bank declined to comment.)
Suliaman faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million if convicted of bank fraud. The wire fraud charges carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fines.
Amin Suliaman was a co-owner of the Nativ Hotel at 1612 Wazee St. in LoDo. (Lily O’Neill/BusinessDen)
A federal grand jury has indicted the former owner of LoDo’s Nativ Hotel on two counts of bank fraud for allegedly lying on loan paperwork and convincing Vectra Bank to send him nearly $300,000 in pandemic-era aid at a time when the hotel was closed.
Amin Suliaman, 48, was arrested last May and initially charged with four counts of wire fraud. He has pleaded not guilty. A one-week trial is scheduled to begin June 9 downtown.
Suliaman’s lawyer, Harvey Steinberg, did not answer a request for comment on the new charges but previously predicted that his client “will be completely vindicated.”
On March 26, grand jurors added the two bank fraud charges after determining that Suliaman’s alleged wrongdoing went farther than federal investigators initially believed.
Suliaman once operated several businesses in Colorado and co-owned the hotel at 1612 Wazee St. from 2018 until it closed in 2020. After a contentious foreclosure process, a bankruptcy and a failed auction, 1612 Wazee St. was sold for $6 million in 2022.
The allegations against Suliaman involve the time between Nativ’s closure and its sale. Prosecutors say that he applied for and received $450,000 in pandemic-era Economic Injury Disaster Loans for the hotel and other shuttered businesses that he owned, then spent the money on his nightclubs in Texas, along with rent, travel and retail purchases.
The new accusations of bank fraud stem from early 2021, when Suliaman allegedly submitted a Paycheck Protection Program application for the Nativ Hotel, which was not issuing paychecks. His application falsely stated the PPP money would be spent on Nativ, prosecutors say.
Suliaman then allegedly signed a credit agreement with Vectra, again falsely claiming he would use the PPP money on paychecks. Vectra is said to have put $291,912 in his account.
The next year, Suliaman asked Vectra to forgive the loan, claiming he had used the money to pay 25 hotel employees, when he actually used it for personal expenses, according to his indictment. Vectra denied the forgiveness application. (The bank declined to comment.)
Suliaman faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million if convicted of bank fraud. The wire fraud charges carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fines.
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